Council backing ban on conversion therapy

Council backing ban on conversion therapy

14 April 2021

NEWRY, Mourne and Down Council has called for a ban on so-called conversion therapy and increased protection for those in the LGBT+ community.

The decision was taken at last week’s monthly meeting of the local authority with the debate including a powerful and moving contribution from Slieve Gullion councillor Pete Byrne, who highlighted the issues that those in the gay community like himself face.

Tabled by Rowallane councillor Patrick Brown, the motion was not agreed unanimously, with Independent Unionist Henry Reilly voting against it on the grounds that he did not know enough about the issue to make a judgement. The DUP’s Glyn Hanna and Kathryn Owen abstained.

Cllr Brown urged the local authority to oppose the harm caused to the LGBT+ community in the past through the denial of rights and equal treatment and to recognise that discrimination still occurs today.

Councillors have also supported a call to three Stormont ministers — Deirdre Hargey, Robin Swann and Naomi Long — to introduce an effective ban on conversion therapy within Northern Ireland, supported by a programme of work to help tackle these practices in all their forms.

Cllr Brown’s motion, which urged the NI Executive and UK government to ban conversion therapy, called on the council to highlight and promote the continued support, counselling and advocacy local groups provide to members of the LGBT+ community.

“Conversion therapy is a horrific practice that has no place in today’s society,” Cllr Brown declared.

“Conversion therapy is a term used to refer to various dangerous and discredited practices aimed at changing an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.

“That could include attempting to change someone’s sexual orientation from lesbian, gay or bisexual to straight or their gender identity from transgender or non-binary to cisgender.”

Cllr Brown said this ”disgraceful practice” should not be accepted and permanently banned through legislation.

Cllr Byrne — who is the SDLP group leader — said the fact that the issue was being debated in 2021 was “beyond distressing” and as conversion therapy was still openly being practised.

“We can’t look at the LGBT community and ask us to speak about it without your support,” he told colleagues. “We need everyone in the chamber to support it and I hope they do.

“We have heard the disappointing and weak response from the equalities minister on the conversion therapy debate in early March and we have waited almost 1,000 days since the UK government announced its intention to ban this therapy and we should not have to wait any longer.

“It’s long past time that the NI Executive stood up together to ban what I think are abusive practices in Northern Ireland and right across the UK, banning all interventions that have the intention of changing, suppressing, converting or cancelling sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.”

Cllr Byrne said that growing up as gay, he found it incredibly difficult, explaining to his colleagues that he could not express how difficult it had been.

“Mentally, you torture yourself, you question yourself and you close down, block out your feelings. You literally wear a mask every single day, praying that you don’t say something that will give you away. 

“You endure enough mental anguish to last a dozen lifetimes so, to me, when I look back, that is you internally practising a form of conversion therapy on yourself. It is shameful, but that is how you feel growing up, suppressing your own sexual orientation and every LGBT+ person knows the damage that it does,” he said, emphasising that allowing conversion therapy to be practised openly or signposting people towards it is “beyond depressing”.

Cllr Byrne said for most of those in the gay community they “generally breathe for the first time when they let it all out and to be true to yourself”, explaining that the difficulties do not stop there.

“You are confronted as a gay person by many situations that challenge you mentally and while people say ‘that is the cross you have to bear’ it should not be,” he continued. “There is nothing about my sexuality that needs fixed, nothing about it that needs intervention.”

Cllr Cathy Mason, who seconded the motion, said the practice of conversion therapy sought to “denormalise” or completely eradicate a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression and was deeply rooted in “intolerance and bigotry”.

She said those who conducted the therapy regularly exploited the vulnerabilities of young people struggling with their sexuality. 

She described conversion therapy as a “deeply harmful and regressive practice” and that there must be no loopholes on the legislation governing it.

Cllr Hanna said the DUP would abstain on the motion, making it clear he had no problems with anyone and takes everyone as he finds them and that conversion therapy was “something that he would not wish on anyone.”

Cllr Willie Clarke said no one had the right to question another person’s sexuality, while Cllr Reilly asked if people were “forced” into conversion therapy, explaining that he did not know about the issue. 

However, he suggested that to ban something because “you did not like a person’s ideology or philosophy was the start of a dark path”.

He said there was a wider context to the issue and that he had a lot of respect for Cllr Byrne. Cllrs David Taylor, Gareth Sharvin and Oonagh Hanlon also supported the motion.